Hera
Hera '''(Greek: Ἥρα) was the Greek goddess of women, family, motherhood, marriage, fertility, birth, air, sky, familial love and the starry heavens. She was the daughter of Kronos and Rhea, and the sister and consort of Zeus, and thus the Queen of Olympus. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her. Hera was known for her jealous and vengeful nature, most notably against Zeus's lovers and offspring, but also against mortals who crossed her, such as Pelias. Paris offended her by choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess, earning Hera's hatred. Reign Hera is the goddess of many things. The main things that she is the goddess of is '''marriage, family, motherhood, and women. After she married Zeus, she became the Queen of Olympus as well as the goddess of heaven and air, which she shared with Zeus. She was also a minor goddess of love, but only familial love. If she was a goddess of all love, she would have been able to stop all of Zeus' affairs. Because she is the goddess of marriage, it would only be fit that she be the goddess of commitment as well. Some myths also say she is the goddess of heirs, kings, empires, and queens. Mythology Hera presides over the right ordering of marriage and is the archetype of the union in the marriage bed, but she is not notable as a mother. The legitimate offspring of her union with Zeus are Ares (the god of war), Hebe (the goddess of youth), Eris (the goddess of discord) and Eileithyia (goddess of childbirth). Enyo, a war goddess responsible with the destruction of cities and attendant of Ares, is also mentioned as a daughter of Zeus and Hera, though Homer equates her with Eris. Hera was jealous of Zeus' giving birth to Athena without recourse to her (actually with Metis), so she gave birth to Hephaestus without him. Hera was then disgusted with Hephaestus' ugliness and threw him from Mount Olympus. In an alternate version, Hera alone produced Hebe after being impregnated by a head of lettuce or by beating her hand on the Earth, a solemnizing action for the Greeks. Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical throne which, when she sat on, did not allow her to leave. The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he repeatedly refused. Dionysus got him drunk and took him back to Olympus on the back of a mule. Hephaestus released Hera after being given Aphrodite as his wife. Early Life Hera was born to Cronus and Rhea. Cronus had made it a practice of eating his children once they are born. Years later, Zeus had given Rhea a mustard, wine, and herb mixture to give to Cronus. He thought it would make him unstoppable, but instead he vomited up his now full grown children. As they were immortal, they were growing inside his stomach. Eventually she sucked calas dick , Zeus had chopped Cronus into pieces with his own sickle, and threw him into Tartarus. Wedding Zeus had asked her to be his queen, but she knew of his many other wives and denied his requests. Slyly, Zeus made a thunderstorm and turned into a cuckoo. Hera felt sorry for it, so she held it to keep it warm. Zeus transformed back to his normal form and Hera was embarassed and accepted his marriage request. All of nature burst into bloom for their wedding. Gaea gave Hera an apple tree that bore golden apples. She treasured this tree, and put it in her secret garden in the far west, guarded by a hundred headed dragon and the Hesperides to water it. Hephaestus After Hera gave birth to her son, Hephaestus, he was so ugly and lame that his father, Zeus, took him from her arms and threw him off of Olympus. He landed on an island and his legs were permanently damaged. He now has an awkward walk and his home is on the island that he landed on. ater When Zeus and Io were having an affair, he tried to hide it from Hera by creating thick clouds over them so that Hera couldn't see down to him. However Hera knew that Zeus must be under the clouds so she went down to earth and went under the clouds. Zeus, worrying about Hera's wrath, turned his lover, Io, into a stunning white cow. Hera was not fooled. She knew this was one of Zeus' tricks but she pretended that she didn't know. She asked Zeus if she could keep the cow and Zeus, not wanting her to find out, allowed Hera to take the cow to their palace in Olympus. Hera tied Io to a tree and set Argus to watch over her. Argus was a faithful companion of Hera who was the best guard that there ever was. This was because his body was completely covered in one hundred blue eyes. Also, Argus never closed more than half of his eyes at once, so he never missed anything. When Zeus could no longer stand Io's distress, he sent Hermes, the sneakiest of gods, to set Io free. Hermes disguised himself as a shepherd and went to Argus, playing music on a pipe. Argus enjoyed the music and the company of another person as he was very bored watching a cow all day. After Hermes finished his tune he began to tell a very dull story. Eventually, fifty of Argus' eyes fell asleep and then one-by-one his other fifty began to fall asleep as well. When all hundred were closed, Hermes touched each one with his wand, making them stay shut in eternal sleep. Hermes untied the cow and Io ran back to her father, who was a river god named Inachus. Inachus didn't recognize his daughter but when Io spelled out her name is the sand, her father understood. Inachus went to Zeus with extreme anger. Zeus killed Inachus with a thunderbolt and ever since, the river bed of Inachus has been dry. When Hera saw Argus dead and Io gone, she became extremely angry. She sent a gadfly to chase the cow wherever she went and to continuously sting her. Io ran all over Greece, trying to get away from the fly. When Io arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians worshipped the beautiful cow and she became an Egyptian goddess. Hera told Zeus that he could turn Io back into a human if he promised to never look at her again. After Io had been turned back, she became the goddess-queen of Egypt and her son with Zeus became the king after her. Leto When Hera found out that Zeus had impregnated Leto with a set of twins, she made all lands shun Leto so that she wouldn't be able to find a place to have her babies. However, Hera's brother, Poseidon, had recently created a piece of land that wasn't yet attached to the Earth, so it wasn't yet land. Leto went to this island and laid under a palm tree to give birth. However, Hera, still angry at Leto and Zeus, forbid Eilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, to go to Leto, preventing her from giving birth. Eventually, the other goddesses persuaded Hera to let Eilithyia go with Iris to Leto in exchange for a nine yard necklace made of gold. Semele After Hera discovered that Zeus had impregnated Semele, a mortal princess, she went to Semele in the guise of an old woman and asked why the baby's father wasn't with her. Semele claimed that the father was the mighty Lord of the Sky, Zeus. Hera, still disguised as the old woman, asked Semele how she could be sure that her husband really was the Lord of the Sky as so many men claimed to be him. Hera told Semele that to be sure, she should ask Zeus to see him in all his true form. When Zeus returned, Semele made him promise on the River Styx to grant her one wish. He did so but was shocked when she asked him to show her his true form. He begged her to change her wish but she refused. He did as she pleased and she was instantly incinerated. However, Zeus rushed down to Hades and took his son from Semele. Zeus then gave their son, Dionysus, to Hermes to take him to a valley called Nysa that was located in faraway lands to hide him from Hera. Hermes did so and left him with the Maenads where he was raised with them as well as tigers and leopards. Punishment of Ixion Ixion once tried to violate Hera. Zeus then punished him by tying him to a fiery wheel for all of eternity. Judgement of Paris At the wedding of Thetis and Peleus, everyone was invited, except for the goddess of discord, Eris. She was angered by this and threw a golden apple of discord into the party that said "To The Fairest". Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all took claim to this apple. Not being able to decide who it was for, they turned to Zeus, who sent them to Paris, a mortal shepherd. Each goddess offered him something but Paris took Aphrodite's offer of having Helen for his bride. Family *Cronus (Father) *Rhea (Mother) *Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia (Siblings) *Zeus (Husband) *Ares, Hephaestus, Enyo, Eilithyia, and Hebe (Children with Zeus) Depiction and Personality Hera is usually depicted as a beautiful woman who is wearing a crown and holding a royal, lotus-tipped staff. She usually holds herself tall so she looks very powerful. Hera is a very jealous goddess. She is easily angered and can be offended easily. Her throne, chariot, and sandals are all made of gold. She gets mad and turns peoples' hair into seerpents when ever they boast about their hair being more beautiful than Hera's. Sacred Symbols and Animals Her symbols include; *'Pomegranate '- Pomegranates are wedding symbols. *'Diadem' - Queens typically wear crowns or diadems. *'Lotus-Tipped Staff' - People of great power are typically shown with a staff. Her animals include; *'Cow '- Because cows are some of the most motherly animals. She chose this as her animal. *'Peacock '- Because she didn't want to be seen as plain as a cow, she chose the peacock as another one of her animals. Peacocks are also symbols for pride. *'Lion '- She also chose a lion, along with a peacock. *'Crane' *'Cuckoo' *'Hawk' Trivia *Hera often has grudges against Zeus' other lovers and his children that are not with her. She often tries to kill his other children like Heracles or Dionysus. *Her Roman name is Juno. **The word June is named after her. Also, June is the month that is best for weddings. *Zeus knew that his affair with Alceme would anger Hera so he named their son 'Hera'cles, in hopes of appeasing her. Category:Olympians Category:Females Category:Goddesses Category:Immortals Category:Children of Khronos Category:Children of Cronus Category:Family Gods